Calling all former Floridians...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Floridians:
What's the vibe on Destin, Rosemary Beach, Miramar beach, Seacrest?

To die for, but not sure of the schools.
Prettiest part of Florida!

It's the prettiest part of Florida. It's very resort-oriented, though. I once looked at the school in Seaside, and they were highly rated (but small). If you want good schools in the Panhandle, I'd look in Gulf Breeze (next to Pensacola).

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I have heard the public schools in Florida are not good anywhere. Period. And, most people with money put their kids in parochial or private schools. My family lives full time in the DC Metro area but we own a home in Boca Raton. I would never move down there with grade school children. I have kids in middle school now. At least in the DC area you have a wide variety of school options but not in Florida. Plus, people down there are stupid (culturally, socially, politically...) at least in South Florida. OP, you should think long and hard about it.

You must have missed the part where I said I lived in florida for 7 years and love it.

But, you have kids now which is a critical component. You weren't concerned about schools when you were loving it.

I was mostly responding to the bolded. No one can be so stupid to think that there are literally no excellent public schools in the entire state of florida, so that I didn't even think to respond to that part of the PP's comment.

NP. I grew up in Florida. Don't do this to your kids. You understand great school ratings don't work across state lines? And though UF is not a bad school, it is the only viable in state option and decent university for like 600 miles.

Culturally there is a reason why Florida is the butt of many jokes. And summers are unbearable unless you live on the beach. No one will be walking in your cute downtown area for 5 months of the year because of the blistering heat. And it is the south with a bunch of lower income folks who moved down from up north to live large.


If you must do this, Gainesville is cute college town but kind of grungy, St Augustine is decent option, bayside in Tampa, parts of New Tampa are where all my friends with professional jobs ended up (but suburban sprawl). Maybe Celebration, but snooty. Winter Park I think is ok but less familiar with Orlando. Space coast might be nice but has been in decline since NASA outsourced everything to SpaceX and Russians.

You will not find cats and dogs and teachers and doctors living together; teachers make $30k, it just doesn't happen unless teacher marries a doctor. Gated communities are EVERYWHERE.

OP, people are just stupid. This poster has no idea what she is talking about. My daughter is a teacher in St Johns. Starting salary several years ago was 46,000 a year. That's just one small example of the nonsense on the board. There are several great colleges in Florida. Smart, high performing kids in Florida go to college at almost no cost. UF and FSU are good as are University of North Florida, University of Central Florida, Miami, ....... Plenty of good in-state options. We have lived in every region of this country (including several years in Hawaii) and in three overseas countries. We can't WAIT to move back to Florida.

Stop the presses. $46k! That is mad money.

Yeah, but when you have, say, two married teachers in their mid 30s who are now each making $56k (I'd guess that's a reasonable amount of raises for working for 10-15 years), and they aren't paying 8% income tax (like i do in DC), it seems pretty viable to buy a $350k house in a nice, new part of town on that salary. Lots of nice neighborhoods in Floirda with good schools where you can get something for $350k. So yeah, those kinds of salaries can afford to buy in nice neighborhoods in Florida.

My mom was a teacher in Florida. You don't get those kind of raises. She retired 5 years ago and made peak $60k by doing a lot of overtime/homeschooling. Every teacher in FL has to have a side hussle to cover summer of no pay. Or marry a doctor. Teachers are not valued in FL nearly as much as in MoCo or the like, though I guess in truth maybe the housing cost/salary ratio still works out in FL. But they aren't living next to doctors, which was the original point. Doctors by and large live in the gated communities that litter the state.

Okay, so even assuming crappy raises, the two teachers could possibly buy a $300k house a few blocks down from a $550k house where the early-career doctor working at the UF hospital with a sahm lives. I had a lot of doctor friends in their thirties in florida who were living in that house price point. They aren't all plastic surgeons! And same with lawyers down there. There are probably only 10 kids a year in florida that get hired out of law school at the big law $160/180k starting salary. Most lawyers are lucky to get offered a starting salary of $80k in the major cities; less in the smaller towns. So certainly lawyers are living along side teachers. Maybe not the same street, but in the same communities and sending their kids to the same schools. But in DC, the teachers aren't even living in the same county as lawyers (unless they married rich). Florida salaries are much more closely gathered around the mean.

Oh, I didn't see where in OP said she wanted to live next to lawyers.

I agree any lawyer in FL is not big law; I won't use the pejorative that is thrown around DCUM to describe it.

I'm just saying as someone who grew up in FL, I wish my parents had stayed in the NE, it was awful and I hope OP really things hard about what she is doing. It's fine for vacation or to party in your twenties. Why not look at someplace in Colorado or Seattle? Is it the beach? North Carolina or Jersey are doable options.

So you are saying that if OP likes the beach and easy life in Florida, she should consider Jersey as a viable option? Seriously?

Have you been to the small beach towns on jersey shore, like Cape May, etc? She will be near a beach and this area is truly the garden state, and have much better educational opportunities for her kids.

The Jersey Shore? The beach is trashy, the weather is horrible at least 6 months out of the year, the taxes are ridiculous. What's not to love?

[Anonymous]

Nicolas Cruz aside, the schools in Parkland, FL seem to be doing an amazing job. Have never been so impressed by a group of teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you ever decide to move? Just curious as I am planning the same.

I'm OP! Funny this started up again and i just happened to visit the real estate forum, which i never do!

Yup, we went through with this and moved to Sarasota last year. And it's great! We ended up spending more than we initially targeted, not because we had to but because we had the cash and it got us a pretty swoon-worthy home. But there are lots of great neighborhoods that go to the same school we're in bounds for, for half the price. We picked this area for a variety of reasons (my husband and i can both work from home, but sarasota is equi-distant between back offices of our employers, and it's also equidistant between some extended family). The schools are excellent but not to insanely competitive or crazy. Most of the kids go fishing or to the beach on the weekends. As do we! Weather is great. And living is just really pleasant and easy. We have a kid with some minor special needs that have reared a bit more, and while it's not easy to deal with, it's a lot easier here than it would have been in DC. His doctors, pharmacy and school are all within 15 blocks, so it doesn't consume your day to get things done. One thing we knew in moving down here is that if we need to leave either of our current jobs, the opportunities down here are few and far between and at a BIG pay cut. But in our case, we decided we had enough cash that we can deal with a job change without a lifestyle change. That was our particular situation but may not be everyone's. We live in a really nice non-gated neighborhood with house prices ranging from $600k to $3m (waterfront), and our neighbors have all been exceedingly welcoming. They have jobs like doctors, accountants, lawyers, and small to medium sized business owners. There was a state special election last month, and i'd say 25% of our immediate neighbors (4 blocks or so) had political signs, and not a single republican sign among the bunch. Everyone is just regular people, nice and kind and pleasant to be around.

In any event, it was a wonderful move for us and we are so happy on a daily basis.

[Anonymous]

I love Palm Harbor (Pinellas County) kind of near St. Petersburg, great area with an excellent IB high school: PHUS. Everything is close by including some of the most beautiful beaches like Ft. Desoto Park and Honeymoon Island. Plenty of culture, good shopping and fun stuff for kids in addition to not being too far from the airport for getaways.

[Anonymous]

Coral Springs/parkland
Some neighborhoods in Tampa

[Anonymous]

Where would you move if no kids, telework, 1.2mil budget, close to the beach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where would you move if no kids, telework, 1.2mil budget, close to the beach?

Boca Grande, FL (not Boca Raton). It is a great small island between Sarasota and Ft Myers. Super friendly little island town.

[Anonymous]

JACKSONVILLE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JACKSONVILLE.

Hi Jason!

https://youtu.be/l59ItK6d-wQ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JACKSONVILLE.

Hi Jason!

https://youtu.be/l59ItK6d-wQ

Bortles!!!!

[Anonymous]

I am currently moving to DC metro area for husband’s job relocation. Just sold my home my 3000sf home in South Florida. Check into village of Pinecrest or village of Palmetto Bay in Miami Florida zip 33158. Excellent schools with excellent teachers. Nice people. Cant beat the weather Dec-April. Tax benefits great. Fun life. You definitely do want a screened in pool.

[Anonymous]

Miamian here. You may want to still consider Miami, and live in Coral Gables. Gables high has an IB program, excellent school. One of my best friends from home up and moved her whole family to South Beach. Kids go to South Pointe Elementary, and Beach High has been excellent for years. They hardly ever drive, they walk everywhere, and have a really cool community. I'm from Pinecrest, which is south of there. Excellent schools (Jeff Bezos went to my high school) and while suburby, it's not cookie cutter or gated community. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I have heard the public schools in Florida are not good anywhere. Period. And, most people with money put their kids in parochial or private schools. My family lives full time in the DC Metro area but we own a home in Boca Raton. I would never move down there with grade school children. I have kids in middle school now. At least in the DC area you have a wide variety of school options but not in Florida. Plus, people down there are stupid (culturally, socially, politically...) at least in South Florida. OP, you should think long and hard about it.

You must have missed the part where I said I lived in florida for 7 years and love it.

But, you have kids now which is a critical component. You weren't concerned about schools when you were loving it.

I was mostly responding to the bolded. No one can be so stupid to think that there are literally no excellent public schools in the entire state of florida, so that I didn't even think to respond to that part of the PP's comment.

NP. I grew up in Florida. Don't do this to your kids. You understand great school ratings don't work across state lines? And though UF is not a bad school, it is the only viable in state option and decent university for like 600 miles.

Culturally there is a reason why Florida is the butt of many jokes. And summers are unbearable unless you live on the beach. No one will be walking in your cute downtown area for 5 months of the year because of the blistering heat. And it is the south with a bunch of lower income folks who moved down from up north to live large.


If you must do this, Gainesville is cute college town but kind of grungy, St Augustine is decent option, bayside in Tampa, parts of New Tampa are where all my friends with professional jobs ended up (but suburban sprawl). Maybe Celebration, but snooty. Winter Park I think is ok but less familiar with Orlando. Space coast might be nice but has been in decline since NASA outsourced everything to SpaceX and Russians.

You will not find cats and dogs and teachers and doctors living together; teachers make $30k, it just doesn't happen unless teacher marries a doctor. Gated communities are EVERYWHERE.

OP, people are just stupid. This poster has no idea what she is talking about. My daughter is a teacher in St Johns. Starting salary several years ago was 46,000 a year. That's just one small example of the nonsense on the board. There are several great colleges in Florida. Smart, high performing kids in Florida go to college at almost no cost. UF and FSU are good as are University of North Florida, University of Central Florida, Miami, ....... Plenty of good in-state options. We have lived in every region of this country (including several years in Hawaii) and in three overseas countries. We can't WAIT to move back to Florida.

Stop the presses. $46k! That is mad money.

Yeah, but when you have, say, two married teachers in their mid 30s who are now each making $56k (I'd guess that's a reasonable amount of raises for working for 10-15 years), and they aren't paying 8% income tax (like i do in DC), it seems pretty viable to buy a $350k house in a nice, new part of town on that salary. Lots of nice neighborhoods in Floirda with good schools where you can get something for $350k. So yeah, those kinds of salaries can afford to buy in nice neighborhoods in Florida.

My mom was a teacher in Florida. You don't get those kind of raises. She retired 5 years ago and made peak $60k by doing a lot of overtime/homeschooling. Every teacher in FL has to have a side hussle to cover summer of no pay. Or marry a doctor. Teachers are not valued in FL nearly as much as in MoCo or the like, though I guess in truth maybe the housing cost/salary ratio still works out in FL. But they aren't living next to doctors, which was the original point. Doctors by and large live in the gated communities that litter the state.

Okay, so even assuming crappy raises, the two teachers could possibly buy a $300k house a few blocks down from a $550k house where the early-career doctor working at the UF hospital with a sahm lives. I had a lot of doctor friends in their thirties in florida who were living in that house price point. They aren't all plastic surgeons! And same with lawyers down there. There are probably only 10 kids a year in florida that get hired out of law school at the big law $160/180k starting salary. Most lawyers are lucky to get offered a starting salary of $80k in the major cities; less in the smaller towns. So certainly lawyers are living along side teachers. Maybe not the same street, but in the same communities and sending their kids to the same schools. But in DC, the teachers aren't even living in the same county as lawyers (unless they married rich). Florida salaries are much more closely gathered around the mean.

Oh, I didn't see where in OP said she wanted to live next to lawyers.

I agree any lawyer in FL is not big law; I won't use the pejorative that is thrown around DCUM to describe it.

I'm just saying as someone who grew up in FL, I wish my parents had stayed in the NE, it was awful and I hope OP really things hard about what she is doing. It's fine for vacation or to party in your twenties. Why not look at someplace in Colorado or Seattle? Is it the beach? North Carolina or Jersey are doable options.

There are definitely BigLaw firms in Miami, amd most likely satellite offices elsewhere in the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I have heard the public schools in Florida are not good anywhere. Period. And, most people with money put their kids in parochial or private schools. My family lives full time in the DC Metro area but we own a home in Boca Raton. I would never move down there with grade school children. I have kids in middle school now. At least in the DC area you have a wide variety of school options but not in Florida. Plus, people down there are stupid (culturally, socially, politically...) at least in South Florida. OP, you should think long and hard about it.

You must have missed the part where I said I lived in florida for 7 years and love it.

But, you have kids now which is a critical component. You weren't concerned about schools when you were loving it.

I was mostly responding to the bolded. No one can be so stupid to think that there are literally no excellent public schools in the entire state of florida, so that I didn't even think to respond to that part of the PP's comment.

NP. I grew up in Florida. Don't do this to your kids. You understand great school ratings don't work across state lines? And though UF is not a bad school, it is the only viable in state option and decent university for like 600 miles.

Culturally there is a reason why Florida is the butt of many jokes. And summers are unbearable unless you live on the beach. No one will be walking in your cute downtown area for 5 months of the year because of the blistering heat. And it is the south with a bunch of lower income folks who moved down from up north to live large.


If you must do this, Gainesville is cute college town but kind of grungy, St Augustine is decent option, bayside in Tampa, parts of New Tampa are where all my friends with professional jobs ended up (but suburban sprawl). Maybe Celebration, but snooty. Winter Park I think is ok but less familiar with Orlando. Space coast might be nice but has been in decline since NASA outsourced everything to SpaceX and Russians.

You will not find cats and dogs and teachers and doctors living together; teachers make $30k, it just doesn't happen unless teacher marries a doctor. Gated communities are EVERYWHERE.

OP, people are just stupid. This poster has no idea what she is talking about. My daughter is a teacher in St Johns. Starting salary several years ago was 46,000 a year. That's just one small example of the nonsense on the board. There are several great colleges in Florida. Smart, high performing kids in Florida go to college at almost no cost. UF and FSU are good as are University of North Florida, University of Central Florida, Miami, ....... Plenty of good in-state options. We have lived in every region of this country (including several years in Hawaii) and in three overseas countries. We can't WAIT to move back to Florida.

Stop the presses. $46k! That is mad money.

Yeah, but when you have, say, two married teachers in their mid 30s who are now each making $56k (I'd guess that's a reasonable amount of raises for working for 10-15 years), and they aren't paying 8% income tax (like i do in DC), it seems pretty viable to buy a $350k house in a nice, new part of town on that salary. Lots of nice neighborhoods in Floirda with good schools where you can get something for $350k. So yeah, those kinds of salaries can afford to buy in nice neighborhoods in Florida.

My mom was a teacher in Florida. You don't get those kind of raises. She retired 5 years ago and made peak $60k by doing a lot of overtime/homeschooling. Every teacher in FL has to have a side hussle to cover summer of no pay. Or marry a doctor. Teachers are not valued in FL nearly as much as in MoCo or the like, though I guess in truth maybe the housing cost/salary ratio still works out in FL. But they aren't living next to doctors, which was the original point. Doctors by and large live in the gated communities that litter the state.

Okay, so even assuming crappy raises, the two teachers could possibly buy a $300k house a few blocks down from a $550k house where the early-career doctor working at the UF hospital with a sahm lives. I had a lot of doctor friends in their thirties in florida who were living in that house price point. They aren't all plastic surgeons! And same with lawyers down there. There are probably only 10 kids a year in florida that get hired out of law school at the big law $160/180k starting salary. Most lawyers are lucky to get offered a starting salary of $80k in the major cities; less in the smaller towns. So certainly lawyers are living along side teachers. Maybe not the same street, but in the same communities and sending their kids to the same schools. But in DC, the teachers aren't even living in the same county as lawyers (unless they married rich). Florida salaries are much more closely gathered around the mean.

Oh, I didn't see where in OP said she wanted to live next to lawyers.

I agree any lawyer in FL is not big law; I won't use the pejorative that is thrown around DCUM to describe it.

I'm just saying as someone who grew up in FL, I wish my parents had stayed in the NE, it was awful and I hope OP really things hard about what she is doing. It's fine for vacation or to party in your twenties. Why not look at someplace in Colorado or Seattle? Is it the beach? North Carolina or Jersey are doable options.

So you are saying that if OP likes the beach and easy life in Florida, she should consider Jersey as a viable option? Seriously?

Have you been to the small beach towns on jersey shore, like Cape May, etc? She will be near a beach and this area is truly the garden state, and have much better educational opportunities for her kids.

I have relatives who just moved from Jersey to Florida. They just traded their crappy (as in, badly constructed in the 60's) three bedroom (one bedroom was basically a closet) for a beautiful new five bedroom house with a pool in a good (gasp!) Schools district. Not only do they not pay outrageous New Jersey income and property taxes, they report that groceries are half what they were in Jersey. Personally, I'm not a fan of Florida weather, but the fact that you're pushing Jersey as an alternative to people who could live anywhere completely discredits you.

As a New Jersey native, I’ll add there are no good schools near the Jersey beaches, unless one can afford to live in a town like Springlake or Rumson, where the real estate taxes would definitely be significantly higher than the D!V and the housing several multiples higher than OP’s desired budget.